A fugitive Congolese warlord dubbed 'The Terminator' has handed himself in at the US embassy in Rwanda.

Bosco Ntaganda said he wanted to be transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces war crimes charges racked up during years of rebellion.

Who is Bosco Ntaganda?

A Rwandan-born Tutsi rebel and one of the world's most wanted war crime fugitives.

Known as "The Terminator" for his love of front-line confrontation.

Often seen wearing military berets or leather cowboy hats with camouflage fatigues.

Wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity including recruiting child soldiers, murder and rape.

Has fought for rebels, militias and armies in both Rwanda and Congo in the past 20 years.

Was a member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel group before fighting in east Congo's previous Tutsi-led CNDP rebellion.

Became an officer in integrated Congolese army of president Joseph Kabila.

Mutinied against Kabila last year, helping launch the M23 rebellion.

Suffered a reversal of fortunes in last few weeks with infighting tearing apart the M23, forcing he and fellow fighters to flee to Rwanda.

By surrendering in Kigali, where an embassy official said staff were "shocked" by his sudden arrival, Ntaganda ended a career that saw him fight as a rebel and government soldier on both sides of the Rwanda-Congo border during nearly 20 years of conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region.

Ntaganda is an ex-general in the Congolese army but is seen as the main instigator of a mutiny by ex-rebels who had been integrated in the regular forces in 2009 but defected in April last year, forming the 'M23' movement.

His whereabouts had been unknown after hundreds of his fighters fled into Rwanda or surrendered to United Nations peacekeepers at the weekend following their defeat by a rival faction of M23 rebels in the mineral-rich eastern Congo.

"He specifically asked to be transferred to the ICC in The Hague," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.

"We are currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request."

ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdullah said the court would put in place all necessary measures to ensure a swift surrender.

Ntaganda faces charges of conscripting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during the 2002-3 conflict in the Ituri district of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Born in Rwanda in 1973, Ntaganda grew up in the DR Congo before fighting alongside Rwandan Tutsi rebels who seized control of the small central Africa country, ending the 1994 genocide in which over 800,000 people died.

He then returned to Congo, where he took part in a series of rebellions but also served temporarily as a senior general and made a name for himself smuggling minerals.

Last May Human Rights Watch said Ntaganda had forcibly recruited at least 149 boys and young men into his militia.

One woman from Birambizo in North Kivu told HRW that Ntaganda himself visited her village to recruit.

"He asked us to give our children, our students, to him to fight. He came to our village himself," the woman said.

He asked us to give our children, our students, to him to fight. He came to our village himself.

North Kivu villager

In the words of a child soldier who testified against Ntaganda in The Hague, he is known as someone who "kills people easily".

Ntaganda - who has a penchant for pencil moustaches and leather cowboy-style hats - has enjoyed a life of fine dining and freedom despite the ICC warrant.

According to UN investigators, he has managed to amass considerable wealth by running a large extortion empire in North Kivu, manning rogue checkpoints and taxing the area's many

Last May, a 25-tonne arms cache was found on Ntaganda's farm in Masisi, North Kivu.

Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said Ntaganda had crossed into Rwanda on Saturday with help from the Rwandan army.

"We'd prefer to have him judged here, but if he is sent to The Hague, that's no problem either," Mr Mende said.

"The most important thing is that justice is served."

Neither Rwanda nor the US has an obligation to hand over Ntaganda to The Hague-based ICC since they are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the court.

Asked whether Rwanda would support Ntaganda's transfer to The Hague, Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo said: "Rwanda has nothing to do with that decision. General Ntaganda is on US territory."